Monday, August 31, 2009

Fertile Ground

We spent the weekend up at the Lakehouse again, and the time spent there never fails to amaze me. Always something knew to see, always a different variation on a theme - be it sunlight or mist or rain - and we never grow tired of that music. Standing on the dock and just looking is a contemplative gaze, and has the power to pull the child out of every heart.

The webs were incredible this time, like I've never seen them; dripping with jewels from the all day mist that never seemed to lift on Saturday. I spied an otter for the first time, sifting her way along the coast searching for those funny freshwater mussels. A great blue heron landed by the water's edge and got us all up early to see it. Steve and Ray set sail in the boat at a scandalously early hour and were rewarded with a fly by Bald Eagle, 20 feet over their heads!

Wolf spiders that had everybody staring. The two snakes that were too shy to show themselves on the rocks. Goldfinches undulating overhead, more often heard than seen. And finally, that soft and silent water that laps up on the shore, perpetually inspiring, reflecting and causing reflections sometimes "too deep for words."

A good way to start off another school year.... on this fertile ground, with this reminder that everything speaks to us if we can be still and listen, and look.

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About the Author of this Blog

BILL DONAGHY has worked in the fields of mission and evangelization in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia since 1999. Through his work with the Pontifical Mission Societies, Bill gave hundreds of talks on the spirituality of mission to young people throughout the greater Philadelphia area and beyond, creating a teaching and speaking ministry known as MissionMoment.org. In October of 2000, Bill was chosen to represent his country in a special tribute for the Jubilee of Missionaries in Rome. He was given a simple cross by Pope John Paul II and called by the Holy Father to “bring Jesus back to your country.” Bill completed the Institute' Speakers Training program in 2005 and our Head & Heart Immersion Course in January 2006. His presentation of Introduction to Theology of the Body has been described as "riveting" and "life-changing." Bill's speaking ministry has taken him throughout the US, Canada, Mexico, Chile, Papua New Guinea and Australia. He holds an Associates Degree in Visual Arts, a Bachelors in Philosophy and a Masters in Systematic Theology. In addition to his work for the TOB Institute as an instructor for the Certification Program, an international speaker, and curriculum specialist, Bill teaches theology at Immaculata University. He and his wife, Rebecca, live outside of Philadelphia, PA with their four children.

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Why the Heart of Things?

Your life is not an endless series of open doors! Listen to your heart! Do not stay on the surface, but go to the heart of things! And when the time is right, have the courage to decide!- St. John Paul II

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Go Deep!

The heart is our hidden center.... only the Spirit of God can fathom the human heart and know it fully. The heart is the place of decision, deeper than our psychic drives. It is the place of truth, where we choose life or death. It is the place of encounter...

St. John Paul II

We are not the sum of our weaknesses and failures, we are the sum of the Father's love for us and our real capacity to become the image of His Son Jesus.

St. Therese of Lisieux

Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you - for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart...

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There are no ordinary people. You have never talked to a mere mortal. Nations, cultures, arts, civilization - these are mortal, and their life is to ours as the life of a gnat. But it is immortals whom we joke with, work with, marry, snub and exploit - immortal horrors or everlasting splendors.

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Joy is a net of love by which we catch souls.

G.K. Chesterton

Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.

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Whoever is near us and needing us must be our ''neighbor''; it does not matter whether he is related to us or not, whether he is morally worthy of our help or not. The love of Christ knows no limits.

J.R.R. Tolkien

The only cure for sagging or fainting faith is Communion. Frequency is of the highest effect. Seven times a week is more nourishing than seven times at intervals.